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Israel Hamas war LIVE: Mediators work to extend truce deal as pause in fighting enters final 24 hours - after Hamas hands over 12 more hostages

11 months ago 47

By Chris Jewers

Published: 08:11 GMT, 29 November 2023 | Updated: 08:58 GMT, 29 November 2023

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ISW: 'Hamas's governance capacity appears to be breaking down'

The US-based Institute for the Study of War has said that the ability for Hamas to govern the Gaza Strip 'appears to be breaking down'.

In its daily update on the conflict, the think tank said this was even in the case in southern Gaza, 'which will complexify Israeli clearing operations.'

It pointed to Oxfam saying that the situation in the Gaza Strip was 'absolute chaos' and without the 'rule of law', and a report by the Associated Press that said civilians in the south of the strip were challenging Hamas's rule.

The ISW also said that both Israel and Hamas had reported at least 'one violation of the temporary truce agreement in the Gaza Strip, but neither side escalated the situation to more general fighting across the strip.'

You can read the think tank's full report below:

IDF 'raids Jenin refugee camp'

The Israeli army raided the Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, according to the head of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

Dr Christos Christou, international president of Médecins Sans Frontières, said he and his team were trapped in a hospital for two hours during the raid.

'Israeli military vehicles blocked the entrance of the hospital and the road, preventing ambulances from leaving,' he wrote on X, adding that two Palestinians died from their wounds while 'ambulances could not reach them'.

Clashes in the West Bank have increased dramatically since October 7.

US President Joe Biden: To continue down the path of war gives Hamas what they seek

United States President Joe Biden has said that to continue down the path of 'terror, violence, killing and war' is to play into the hands of Hamas.

Writing on X (formerly Twitter) he said: 'Hamas unleashed a terrorist attack because they fear nothing more than Israelis and Palestinians living side by side in peace.

'To continue down the path of terror, violence, killing and war is to give Hamas what they seek. We can't do that.'

  • A US official said yesterday that the White House had told Israel that it could not employ the same methods in southern Gaza as it had used in the north.
  • Hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled from northern Gaza since the war began on October 7, when Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people in Israel.
  • In response, Israel launched an air and ground offensive that has killed more than 15,000 people, according to officials in Hamas-run Gaza.
  • There are concerns that when the truce comes to end, Israel will launch an offensive into southern Gaza to continue its mission to destroy Hamas.

Breaking: Hamas 'willing to extend truce by an additional four days'

A source close to Hamas has the Islamist movement was willing to extend by an additional four days a Gaza truce that has seen Israeli hostages exchanged for Palestinian prisoners, AFP news agency reports.

'Hamas has informed the mediators that it is willing to extend the truce for four days and that the movement would be able to release Israeli prisoners that it, other resistance movements and other parties hold during this period, according to the terms of the existing truce,' the source told AFP.

IN PICTURES: Satellite pictures show aid trucks queuing to enter Gaza

A series of satellite images captured on Novebmer 26 have been released, showing vehicles transporting aid into Gaza and the area around hospitals.

In one picture, dozens of trucks carrying aid are seen waiting at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza during the on-going temporary truce.

Another shows the area around Gaza's Al Shifa hospital, which has been at the centre of much international attention during the conflict.

A satellite image shows vehicles transporting humanitarian aid waiting at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, during a temporary truce between the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Israel, in Rafah, Egypt, November 26, 2023. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS    THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT. DO NOT OBSCURE LOGO

A satellite image shows vehicles transporting humanitarian aid waiting at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, during a temporary truce between the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Israel, in Rafah, Egypt, November 26, 2023. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS    THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT. DO NOT OBSCURE LOGO

A satellite image shows the area around Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip, during a temporary truce between the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Israel, November 26, 2023. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS    THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT. DO NOT OBSCURE LOGO

A satellite image shows the area around Al Shifa Hospital, during a temporary truce between the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas and Israel, in Gaza November 26, 2023. Maxar Technologies/Handout via REUTERS    THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT. DO NOT OBSCURE LOGO

Is Israel's goal of destroying Hamas in Gaza slipping out of reach?

Israel's goal of destroying Hamas could be slipping out of reach.

While the IDF's bombardment had destroyed swathes of Gaza and killed thousands of civilians, it seems to have had little effect on Hamas's rule, AP reports.

This is evidenced by the terror group's ability to conduct complex negotiations, enforce the cease-fire among other armed groups, and orchestrate the release of hostages who were dragged into Gaza from southern Israel on October 7.

Hamas' leader in Gaza, Yehya Sinwar, and other commanders have likely relocated to the south of the strip, along with hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians who have packed into overflowing shelters after fleeing from the north.

An Israeli ground invasion of the south could eventually ferret out Hamas' leaders and demolish the rest of its militant infrastructure, including miles of tunnels, but at a cost in Palestinian lives and destruction.

This is a cost the United States, Israel's main ally, seems unwilling to bear.

The Biden administration has told Israel that if it resumes the offensive it must operate with far greater precision, especially in the south.

That approach is unlikely to bring Hamas to its knees any time soon, and international pressure for a lasting cease-fire is mounting.

TOPSHOT - Palestinians inspect the destruction caused by Israeli strikes in Wadi Gaza, in the central Gaza Strip on November 28, 2023, amid a truce in battles between Israel and Hamas. A truce between Israel and Hamas entered a fifth day on November 28 after the deal was extended to allow further releases of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners. (Photo by Mahmud HAMS / AFP) (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)

WATCH: Hamas hand over fifth group of hostages to the Red Cross

Hamas hands over 12 more hostages as Qatari mediators push for another truce extension on final day of ceasefire

Hamas yesterday handed over a fifth group of Israeli and foreign hostages, Israel's Defence Forces confirmed, with negotiators now working to hash out another extension of the ongoing ceasefire set to expire later today.

The Israelis in the group were named as 36-year-old Rimon Kirsht, whose husband remains a hostage, Gabriela Leimberg, 59, and her daughter Mia, 17, who was filmed clutching her pet dog Bella as she was flanked by Hamas fighters.

The group also includes Mia's aunt Clara Merman, 63, Argentina-born Ofelia Roitman, 77, Ditza Herman, 84, Tamar Metzger, 78, Merav Tal, 53, Philippines-born Noralin Babdilla, 60, and Ada Sagi, 75, whose British son Noam has been campaigning in Israel and London for her release.

Click the link below to read our full story:

Israel-Hamas war: Here's what you need to know as the conflict enters its 54th day

Good morning and welcome to MailOnline's live blog covering the 54th day of the war between Israel and Hamas.

Here's what you need to know:

  • International mediators are working to extend the truce in Gaza, hoping the territory's Hamas rulers will keep freeing hostages in return for the release of Palestinian prisoners and further respite from Israel's offensive.
  • Israel has welcomed the release of dozens of hostages in recent days and says it will maintain the truce if Hamas keeps freeing captives.
  • After a 48-hour extension of an initial four-day truce, a new group of 12 hostages was freed from Gaza on Tuesday, with 30 Palestinians released by Israel.
  • The final 24 hours of the extended agreement began on Wednesday, with one more exchange of hostages for prisoners expected.
  • Mediator Qatar said it was hoping for a more durable arrangement.
  • The Israeli hostages freed were all women, including 17-year-old Mia Leimberg, who returned to Israel with her mother and aunt.
  • The three were all abducted from kibbutz Nir Yitzhak, and the teenager was seen after her release holding her dog Bella.
  • Meanwhile, The World Food Programme warned Tuesday that Gaza's population faced a 'high risk of famine if WFP is not able to provide continued access to food.'
  • Conditions in the territory are 'catastrophic,' the agency's Middle East director said, while a spokesman for the UN children's agency UNICEF said aid entering Gaza under the truce deal was 'not even enough for triage.'
  • The dire humanitarian situation has piled on pressure for a more lasting pause or even an end to the fighting, though Israel has made clear it sees the truce as a brief interlude to ensure hostage releases before its war continues.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters accompany newly released hostages before handing them over to the Red Cross in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip on November 28, 2023. Hamas handed over several hostages to the Red Cross in Gaza, an AFP journalist saw, part of an exchange under the terms of an extended truce in the Israel-Hamas war. The hostages, all women, were handed over by masked and armed Hamas fighters to Red Cross officials in Rafah, near the border with Egypt, the journalist said. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Key Updates

  • Israel-Hamas war: Here's what you need to know as the conflict enters its 54th day

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